Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. Shame on me?
This takes place after the curse is cured. They have been out of school for a little over a year now. Yuki is almost twenty, while Tohru is nineteen in this one-shot.
Tohru tossed restlessly in her sleep, finally blinking awake and giving up the fight to stay asleep. Sighing softly to herself, she tumbled out of her bed, clumsily, and made her way downstairs, one hand on the wall to guide her way through the dark house. She jerked to a stop outside the kitchen doorway when she saw a light on. "Hello?" she called out hesitantly, tip-toeing into the room, only to see Yuki slouched at the kitchen table, sipping a mug of tea.
"Oh, Yuki-chan, I didn't see you." Relief fills her voice and she sits down beside him, smiling up at Yuki as he only stares at her.
"What? Is something wrong?" Concerned, she reaches up to feel his forehead.
"Nothing, Tohru-chan," he mutters, rising unsteadily to his feet in his haste to leave. Tohru's face is flaming with shock when she realizes what he has just called her. Tohru-chan. "Wait!" She jumps to her feet, running to catch up with him. When he suddenly stopped at the bottom of the stairs, she nearly rain into his back, skidding to a stop, but not before her face brushed against his back.
"I'm sorry, Miss Honda," he says stiffly, not bothering to turn around. Tohru is confused at his sudden formalness, and reaches around him, grabbing onto one of his hands and wrapping her own cold one around it.
"Why don't you call me Tohru anymore? Did I…did I do something wrong?" Her voice wobbles with the threat of tears, and she dashes her free hand over her cheeks, determined to be a strong, mature young woman about this, no matter the outcome.
"No, Tohru, you didn't," he whispers, barely loud enough to be heard, pausing on her name before giving up the fight and turning to face her. "It's my fault." He spread his hands in an absent gesture of helplessness and defeat before letting them fall limply back to his sides.
Her confusion must have been evident on her face, because Yuki let loose a sigh and dropped to sit on the bottom step. Tohru plopped down on the step beside him, scooting closer as the cool air penetrated her flannel pajamas. She shyly reached over and snared his hand once more, delighted when he linked his fingers with hers, her cheeks almost glowing with a healthy flush of embarrassment. "Tohru, I'm just going to say this and get it out in the open…we can't be together."
Her sharp intake of air was loud in the suddenly silent night. Her eyes shimmered with tears of pain and regret as they studied his face, as he refused to meet her eyes. "Why?" Her simple question gave him pause, but before he could answer it, she continued, "Akito's gone. The curse is gone. All that's left is for us to live our lives the way we want to! What is so wrong with that?" She was desperate now, trying to convince him, trying to make him see that there could be a future for them.
"You don't get it, Tohru!" She was stunned at his sudden anger, so stunned that she quickly scooted closer to the wall, cowering against it in a show of uncertainty. When Yuki noticed this, he scrubbed his hands over his face, and then shuffled over on the step to sit right next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and holding her close as he struggled to explain to them both why they had to wait, maybe forever.
"I'm afraid," he confided softly, face buried in her hair.
"Oh, Yuki," she sighed, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck and burrow against his chest. "You don't need to be afraid. I won't leave you, not for anything in the world," she told him, understanding better than anyone else could. "I accept you. My heart, mind, and soul all accept you. Please, please don't let it be in vain," she pleaded, watching his face.
She saw the exact moment when her words penetrated his mind and, more importantly, his heart. His arms tightened around her, keeping her secure when he suddenly stood up and carried her into the living room, settling her on the couch. When he didn't immediately sit down beside her, Tohru looked up at him, giggling at the mischief in his eyes. He gripped the side of the couch and turned the entire piece of furniture with Tohru on it to face the east window. Then he sat down beside her, covering them both with a quilt as they relaxed to watch the sunrise on the beginning of the rest of their lives.
Midnight snacks do have a purpose, you know.
Author's Note:
Ta-da? It's probably a little odd, but I felt that it was an interesting twist to what could be…a chaotic relationship. Good chaotic, not bad! Sorry for the OOCness of Yuki and Tohru:'(
The Hamster or Cricket, as the situation may call for of Doom!
mwhahahaaa…